Thursday, February 16, 2006

MTV has an article talking to X3 Director Brett Rantner, who admits that this is the last X-men film. Last film? Only if it sucks. What Fox is trying to tell the fearful and depressed X-man fans is this: "Shut up Bitch!! We own the Franchise, and you better appreciate that your getting one more...because that's it!!"

What do they really mean? Two things. One is aggressive: "Hey, Brian Singer!! Yeah you jerk!! We are going to ruin Superman by coming out a month before it does even though Superman has had an extra year of production and one constant director and vision. We petty Fox Executives hate you Brian, and we hate you more than we care about continuing a successful franchise or we would have waited a year for you and let you come back like you said you would. We hate that kid who plays Cyclops too, for being in your Superman movie, so in X-Men 3, even though he is the heart of the X-Men story, we're killing him....for spite!! We also think making this the last part of a trilogy allows us to try to attach it, in peoples minds, to your two good movies and if its sucks maybe people will blame you! Like the Knight in the Monty Python Movie, if we can't do anything else to you, we're going to bleed on you!"The second is practical: "We are calling the movie 'The Last Stand' because we have a few big stars, (Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan) that we don't want to renegotiate with for future movies. Truth is, we don't want anyone we haven't just signed to be able to say 'You need me in the next movie Pay up!!' The one guy we don't mind paying for (Hugh Jackman) is taking his character to the big payoff line in the sky...namely independent Wolverine Star vehicles. We just signed Kelsey Grammer to three more movies, so if this one makes any money at all, you can depend that we will start casting a "New Mutants" or "X-Force" movie, where Beast and Moira (She's in X3 too) take over Xaiver's school, grateful to be working and not ready for renegotiation until X7. What's an X-Men movie without Wolvie, you say? Remember how we have been 'not casting' Gambit in these movies even though he is the second most popular X-Man? We have been saving him as the 'Angry, Bitter, Antihero with a Dark Past' Wolverine replacement!!! We even talked to LOST star 'Josh Holloway' about it this year. Good choice huh? Don't worry, if we can make money, there will be more X-Movies."

'X3' Director Says Movie Will Really Be 'The Last Stand'Ratner reveals there will be no more X-Men films other than possible spinoffs.

HOLLYWOOD — Leaked images from the set of "X3" have been swirling around the Internet with the intensity of one of Storm's tornados, building a torrent of discontent from die-hard "X" fans repelled by theless-than-impressive appearanceof beloved characters like Beast, Juggernaut and Colossus.

And while the man responsible, director Brett Ratner, is quick to defend his vision, all the noise being made is also furthering his desire to really go out with a bang.

"Well, it seems to be the last of the series," Ratner said of the eyebrow-raising title for the third film, "X-Men: The Last Stand," due May 26. "We wanted to make sure the audiences knew that this was a trilogy. Even though they weren't made together like 'Lord of the Rings,' this is really closure for the X-Men series. ... This is the last stand for sure."

A spokesperson for "X-Men" studio 20th Century Fox confirmed that "X3" will be the final film for the mutant team, a revelation that is likely to only increase the level of fan frustration over "The Last Stand."

It's no secret that the "Rush Hour" helmer has been under fireever since he slipped into the director's chair vacated by Bryan Singer (see " 'Rush Hour' Director Ratner To Helm 'X3' "), who powered the first two films to financial success and an outpouring of geek glee. Web sites devoted to the series have been tearing down Ratner ever since, painting him as the man who will undoubtedly bring the franchise down, making the icy reception of the leaked photos a surprise to no one.

"Those photos were [taken] before I even started shooting," Ratner explained. "They were done in the testing process, so those photos are very, very old."

"I think whenever you're on the Internet and you have nothing to do and you're a fan, you become very anxious to get the information, but you have to consider the source," he continued, saying that such leaks undermine his efforts. "If it's sent out by [the studio], then you know it's official, but if it's put up on the Internet by someone who stole something illegally, then I thinkyou should first consider what you're looking at."

The director insists the final version of the characters will stay truer to the classic comics and will vary greatly from the highly criticized images.

"If you take any beautiful woman and put her in bad lighting, she's not gonna look good," Ratner said, insisting that the leaked images have had the same effect on his costumes. "It's not the look of the movie and it's not even close to what we went for, and I'm hoping when the fans see the final result, they're gonna love it."

Following the directorial shuffle that found Ratner separated from his beloved "Superman" gig while Singer indirectly traded franchises with him, the Man of Steel will soar again one month after "The Last Stand," but winning the race to this summer cinema has apparently done little to hide which superhero story is closest to Ratner's heart.

"I love [the X-Men] world, and I'm sure Bryan Singer would love to do it too, and he's actually better at it than I am," he admitted before alluding to the long-rumored spinoff movies for Wolverine and Magneto. "For him to come back [for those] would be amazing," Ratner beamed, offering up another trade. "Just like I would love to do a Superman movie one day. We'll swap."